


Come In, Come Home

by Pikerus_Angel



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Gen, I'm not sure what to tag this, Life is good for once, Vague Spoilers, but not that good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-27
Updated: 2013-04-27
Packaged: 2017-12-09 14:36:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/775317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pikerus_Angel/pseuds/Pikerus_Angel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Or three ways Bruce found himself back in the company of Tony Stark</p><p>Vague spoilers for the Iron Man 3 after credits scene.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Come In, Come Home

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't actually seen the whole film yet but I could resist checking out the after-credits scene when it was posted. Just some little speculations on how we got from point "Bruce is fucking nowhere to be seen" to point "hey there buddy, have you been listening at all?"

{][One][}

Bruce is in a pretty good place, which is surprising. Physically, mentally and emotionally he’s fine, working at a small independent practice in Brazil under SHIELD’s protection.

(Not that SHIELD offers much comfort and he still has a bag packed in his room in case he needs to run, but it’s something.)

He has steady income, he’s doing good work and for the first time in years he feels secure. He doesn’t get much sleep between the job and his own bouts of insomnia but in some ways that’s better than before so he can’t complain. It’s a wonder he’s managed to stay this long without interruption. Of course his peace is eventually shattered, but it was nice while it lasted at least.

Like usual he’s the one closing up rather than the owner, a woman ten years his junior who recently started a family. He’s in the middle of checking the stock of painkillers when there’s a loud knock at the front door which has been locked for over an hour, the windows in the lobby dark and not betraying the face that there’s still someone inside.

Heaving a sigh Bruce made his way back to the front, mentally pleading that it’s not someone dying on the doorstep.

It isn’t.

Tony Stark’s face, worn and tired, brightens when he sees Bruce through the glass door. “Hey big guy!” he says exuberantly. If he’s being honest Bruce will admit it presses on his nerves a little. “Mind letting me in?”

There isn’t much Bruce can do other than nod and try not to show how exhausted he is.

{][Two][}

“We need you to come in.” Natasha says bluntly.

From where he’s standing, arm outstretched to grab a small bottle of a local spice, Bruce blinks in shock.

“Come in for what?” he asks, carefully hiding the suspicion in his tone and overlaying it with curiosity. The New York incident is not one he wants to repeat and, in the case of alien objects, he’s confident that Tony can manage on his own.

Calmly, nonchalantly, Natasha puts her hands in her pockets, loose enough to make it seem like they’re old friends catching up to an observer. Bruce stiffens. “It’s about Stark. Have you been watching the news?”

Unsurprisingly Bruce had not, hasn’t had access to any sort of news outlet for three weeks.

At his blank look Natasha nods her head to the side, not dropping the casual persona just yet. “Walk with me.”

Putting the spice away Bruce sighs and follows.

{][][}

After the explanation Bruce doesn’t sleep, can’t sleep, on the plane ride back to the States. Partially because of the SHIELD agents surrounding him but mostly because of what’s actually happening.

He and Tony are not particularly close. They were able to talk science, understand each other’s’ gibberish, and the engineer offered him a discreet ride wherever he wanted to go after staying for a full week. That was the extent of it. That doesn’t stop the worry from gnawing at Bruce’s gut, stop the scenarios running through his head at the thought of the footage from Malibu, and it certainly doesn’t stop the fact that he can’t close his eyes for more than a minute before being jerked awake by paranoia or apprehension or both.

When they finally arrive it’s been over thirty hours since Bruce last slept, Stark Tower doesn’t seem to be damaged at all, and Tony seems a little worse for wear but otherwise unaffected. It seems SHIELD called him to come in a little too late.

It takes a full five minutes for Bruce to stop laughing at Tony’s doorstep, hysterical and exhausted, and he gratefully accepts the offer to come inside.

{][Three][}

Somewhere just outside of Istanbul, far enough that there’s no one around, a phone rings.

Bruce sighs and takes out the Stark Phone Tony provided before he, quote, “went off into the mystic or whatever it is you do.” To be honest he’s still not sure why he accepted the thing but, well, it had been useful. And untraceable, which was probably the reason behind the decision in the first place.

This is, by far, not the first time Tony has called or texted for no apparent reason. It is the first time he’s done so at six o’clock in the morning, seemingly conscious of the time difference if nothing else.

“Hey Brucie, d’you wanna come by? I was wondering if you wanted to do science and stuff.” The words come too quickly for Bruce to even get out a ‘hello’ but there’s something off about them, a slight slowing that’s familiar.

“Have you been drinking?” Bruce says instead of answering. He can practically _hear_ the dismissive wave.

“A little bit. Not the point though. You’re in, what? Turkey? I can have a plane there in no time. What d’ya say?”

For a moment Bruce considers how in the Hell Tony knows where he is considering it shouldn’t be possible to track the phone, then a longer one to focus on the offer itself.

“How quickly can you get a place to Istanbul?” he says after a long minute.

Tony’s grinning; he can feel it through the line. “That’s the spirit!”


End file.
